Summaries of Independent Scientist (K) Awards

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To perform a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the ARI Smart
Set Form to assess its effectiveness in decreasing antibiotic prescribing in
primary care practices.

To connect the ARI Smart Set Form with a national
disease surveillance program, the National Bioterrorism Syndromic Surveillance
Demonstration Project, to provide an automated, bi-directional link between the
personal and public health systems.

To perform an RCT of providing clinicians
with point-of-care, real-time data about the prevalence of influenza and other
respiratory illnesses in an individual patient's neighborhood through the ARI
Smart Set Form.

Career Goals: Dr. Linder is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. He received his MD from Northwestern University Medical School and did his residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He then went on to earn his MPH from Harvard School of Public Health.

Progress to Date: This grant has been completed. The ARI Smart Form was not associated with a decreased antibiotic prescribing rate but it was only used in 6% of 11,954 visits. For the ARI Quality Dashboard RCT, patients made 18,754 ARI visits and there was no difference in the antibiotic prescribing rate between intervention and control practices.

Future Plans: The grantee will continue his academic research focusing on improving care for ARIs and, more broadly, improving the quality of primary care in the United States.

Highlights and Specific Accomplishments:

Provisional Medical Staff, Faulkner Hospital, Boston, MA.

Associate Physician, Brigham and
Women's Health, Boston, MA.

Excellence in Teaching Award, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Class of 2006.